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The 10 Highest-Funded Kickstarter Projects Of All Time!

For startups, Kickstarter can be the key to success: It exposes your name and your product, and it lets you raise money from anyone in exchange for incentives.

The crowdfunding platform puts the power in the hands (and the pockets) of the people, essentially democratizing the fundraising process and allowing startups to have a more direct line of communication with their customers. Kickstarter has raised $1,200,690,155 to successfully fund 65,076 projects since its launch in 2009.

We've compiled a list of the highest-funded projects in Kickstarter's five-year history, explaining who they are, what they made, and how successful they've been since making it big with their crowdfunded projects.

The Micro, a 3-D printer small enough for your desktop

Goal: $50,000Raised: $3,401,361

The Micro is a 3-D printer that promises easy use for the average person who might not be used to 3-D printing in their home. You just plug in the printer, download or create a model of whatever you want to make, hit print, and watch your creations take shape. The Micro was fully funded in May — it blew past its goal in 11 minutes — and could start shipping out orders to its backers as soon as August.

Reaper Miniatures Bones, an evolution of gaming miniatures

Goal: $30,000Raised: $3,429,235

Funded in August 2012, Reaper Miniature Bones is a miniature set of plastic figurines, based in the science fiction and fantasy genre and used to play tabletop games. In 2013, Reaper Miniatures opened up a second crowdfunding campaign to raise money for even more of the mini figurines. Similar to its first project, it blew away its $30,000 goal with $3.2 million from 14,964 backers.

The "Reading Rainbow" Kickstarter campaign, which broke the record for having the most backers of any Kickstarter project ever, is bringing "Reading Rainbow’s" library of interactive books and video field trips to the 21st century, with more platforms (think tablets, mobile, and video game consoles). The project also aims to provide free access to classrooms in need. Former host LeVar Burton initially wanted to raise $1 million with his Kickstarter campaign, but later increased his goal to $5 million. Seth MacFarlane also pledged to match all donations up to $1 million.

The "Veronica Mars" movie project, picking up where the TV series left off

Goal: $2,00,000Raised: $5,702,153
"Veronica Mars," the television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas and starring Kirsten Bell, was canceled in 2007 after a successful run. After the series was canceled, Thomas wrote a script for a feature-length film, but Warner Bros. decided not to fund the project. In March 2013, Bell and Thomas launched a Kickstarter campaign for the film, and within 10 hours, they reached their $2 million funding goal. The "Veronica Mars" movie is now available, and can be purchased on the "Veronica Mars" website.

Pono, where your soul rediscovers music

Goal: $800,000Raised: $6,225,354
The Pono music player is a prism-shaped device promising high-quality audio. The Pono music player was founded by musician Neil Young, and smashed its $800,000 goal within a day of being announced back in April. The music player retails for $399 and contains 128GB of memory, storing between 1,000 and 2,000 high-resolution songs. The first batch of Pono music players is expected to be delivered to its Kickstarter backers later this year.

Ouya, a new kind of video game console

Goal: $950,000Raised: $8,596,474

The Ouya promises an open-source, Android-powered game console. For $99, you get Ouya's world-class controller, console, and interface. All the games offered on Ouya are free — at least to try. Ouya also has a beautiful, simplistic design, courtesy of Yves Behar. The Ouya is available at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and GameStop.

Pebble, an e-paper watch for iPhone and Android

Goal: $100,000Raised: $10,266,845

The Pebble smartwatch is the most funded project of all time on Kickstarter. It's the world's first successful smartwatch. You can pair your iPhone or Android phone to the watch via Bluetooth. From there, the water-resistant watch lets you receive phone call and text message notifications. It's customizable and allows you to download new watch faces. You can buy a Pebble watch for $249 on its website.